The Aura of an Auror
by Poppler
Summary: Ahh the title sucks...oh well, here goes~ Hermione becomes an Auror and finds much more than she expected to...and all of it is connected to Voldemort. Starts out R/Hr, dunno if it will be that way the whole way through. Pleez R&R!!!


                                    The Aura of an Auror

Okay, here's the first chapter (duh!). It takes place at the very end of everybody's (aka Harry, Ron, and Hermione's) 7th year, and it's from Hermione's POV. The rest of the story is set about a year later. Oh yeah, and Ron and Hermione are going out. Did ya see that coming? Probably did… well, anyway, enjoy!

~Chapter One: No more school, no more books, no more Snape's evil looks~

Breakfast was a very cheerful start to the day on Friday. I'd be willing to bet that it was because we only had one week left of school. Oh, and because it was our 7th year! The Gryffindors were packing up their school things for the last time— which was made a bit more difficult by the fact that Trevor had disappeared from Neville's room three times now—and it was a hard thing for me, knowing that I wouldn't ever be coming back. That it was over, I was done here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Of course, some people took it much better than others. As Ron so eloquently put it, we were out of there for good. I had to admit, and grudgingly at that, that this did sound quite appealing. But still… what would I do without Hogwarts? Without Quidditch, Hogsmeade, all my favorite classes, the professors (especially Dumbledore), the delicious food, visiting with Hagrid over warm drinks…and the way the castle looked so beautiful in the winter when it was surrounded with snow. _Oh no_, I thought. _Stop it. You can survive away from the school! Are you really as bad as Harry and Ron say?_

Ron… would I really survive without him? I wouldn't have admitted it to anyone but Harry if I was attacked by a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but I would miss him a lot- more than I could even comprehend. He was going to visit Charlie and his wife in Romania, and I was going to London. 

And Harry…

Harry had seen the worst, the very, very worst. I knew that. And now he was leaving, along with the rest of us, the relative safety of the school. Though I hate to admit it to myself, I was starting to wonder how many more times he could escape death. In the past year, Voldemort had gotten his long-lost power back, and enough Death Eaters had returned to him (out of fear, mostly, but some out of sheer loyalty) that he could really do some horrible things. This train of thought was becoming more and more prominent in my mind now, and the same exact question always popped into my head following it: More horrible than he had already done?

Who knows?

But like I said before my paranoid ramblings began, breakfast that morning was cheery and generally happy. I sat down between Harry and Ron and dutifully slopped some applesauce onto both of their plates.

"Hermione, come on!" whined Harry, just before letting out a big yawn.

"Yeah, Hermione, do you have to do this all the way until the last day?" Ron chimed in.

Harry smirked. "Yeah, and she's going to do it on the train home." He put on a mocking motherly voice. "Harry, Ronald, eat your cabbage, drink your milk…"

"Eight glasses a day, boys, eight glasses a day…" said Ron.

I rolled my eyes. "Flattering impressions. By the way, Ron," I couldn't resist adding, "it's eight glasses of water a day, not milk."

The two of them looked at me incredulously. I burst out laughing. "Forget it, forget it," I said through my giggles. "Don't eat the applesauce. I don't care."

Ron grinned and kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks, couldn't do it without your permission."

"Right."

Harry cleared his throat. "Is anyone going to ask me about a certain team, and a certain person, ahem ahem—"

"Harry!" I gasped, with about all of the rest of the table, as I realized what he was talking about. "How was the try out?!"

Harry had his heart set on becoming a professional Seeker for the Chudley Cannons. I was really proud of him! It wasn't like it was just a random idea that popped into his head and if he didn't make it on the first try, he was going to give up—he was _going_ to be a professional Quidditch player, no matter what, and we knew it. And why not? He's one of the best players I've ever seen in my life!

He grinned and took a sip of orange juice. Half the Gryffindors, as well as several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, were leaning over the table, anticipating his answer; it was getting quite crowded because of the 7th years drawn over to the table by this interesting turn in the conversation.

"Well?!" said Lavender, who had stopped with a forkful of scrambled eggs halfway to her mouth.

"Yeah, Harry, how'd it go? Tell us!" Neville prodded.

I suddenly realized Ginny was standing behind me. She looked nervous, and I knew why. If Harry went off to play for the Cannons, she would hardly ever see him. 

Harry looked around, evidently pleased about the impatience he was causing.

"Well…"

Parvati was practically on top of the table, she was leaning so far over. Dean and Seamus had abandoned their food completely. 

"Well—" said Harry again, pausing for effect. In reality, all the pause did was cause everyone to groan. 

He ran his fingers through his hair and smiled. "It went great. They think I'm one of the most talented Seekers they've ever seen, and all I have to do now is wait for a small beginner's contract—"

His last few words were completely drowned out by the sudden roar of the table. Neville and Seamus were shaking hands with Harry and yelling congratulations. Ernie Macmillan slapped him on the back with a huge grin on his face. The other tables in the Great Hall were looking curiously over at us. Naturally, the Slytherins were grumbling and trying not to look too interested. Harry turned to Ron and I, grinning. I couldn't contain my excitement any longer, and I reached over and hugged him. "Harry, I knew you'd do it!" I yelled over the cheers of our friends. Ron was smiling, and I had a feeling Harry had already hinted to him about this. He shook Harry's hand too, and much to his dislike, ruffled Harry's hair.

"Thanks," Harry laughed, trying unsuccessfully to smooth out his unruly hair. "Thanks you guys…"

Realization hit me, and I looked behind me for Ginny. She was standing further behind everyone else, an unreadable expression on her face. She wasn't saying anything. I knew I couldn't go over and talk to her, because I'd most likely be squished in the process, with all the people around us. 

All of a sudden, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly from the front of the Hall. Out of my typical respect for the teachers, I quieted down. After a few moments, so did the rest of the table, and the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws wandered back to their tables and sat down. 

"There are some announcements to be made this morning," McGonagall said. Hagrid, who was sitting at a table with Dumbledore, Professors Flitwick and Trelawney, caught my eye and waved at me. I waved back. 

"First—and as I'm sure all of you know—tomorrow will be the last trip to Hogsmeade for all students in fourth year and higher. But," she rose her voice slightly over the excited whispers, "but you are all to stay with the prefects of your house at all times. If a prefect is otherwise engaged, you must stay in a large group. Make sure there are at least-" she looked at Dumbeldore. "—three of you together at any time. This way your safety will be ensured." She looked uneasy, though, like she didn't fully believe what she had just said. We all knew perfectly well why we had to stay in groups, of course. No that I actually thought that any Dark activity would be going on in Hogsmeade. But it was possible. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Malfoy listening with a glare on his face. 

"Secondly, beginning on Monday, the dungeons will be closed, as will the Restricted section of the library." She paused. "No students, for any reason, is to be in these areas OR in the passageways that lead down to the dungeons after Sunday night. If any student is caught breaking the rules, he or she will be dismissed from Hogwarts. Thank you." 

She sat back down. I watched Dumbledore stand up, and I remember this horrible feeling of anticipation I had. I don't know why. Maybe because it's just my nature to be paranoid. 

"Yes, yes, these rules must be enforced," he said clearly. "You don't like them, and I certainly don't like them—" Professor McGonagall shook her head at this—"but nonetheless, they are rules, and rules must be followed. Now. We have one week left to enjoy, and enjoy it we shall! All students going to Hogsmeade, please meet here tomorrow at four o'clock. That's all. Goodbye."

There was a loud clatter of chairs as everyone got up and started filing out of the Hall. Many people who hadn't gotten the chance to congratulate Harry came over to talk to him. I looked around for Ginny, but couldn't find her. 

"So?" said Ron. "Hogsmeade?"

I looked at him. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

"Good. But you do realize that this has to be _the_ most fun weekend we've ever had…you realize that, don't you?"

I smiled. "Yeah. As long as whatever you have in mind doesn't have to with you having too many butterbeers."

Ron smiled back and took my hand. "Nah, probably not. Hey, where's Harry?"

Harry had been surrounded by people. Colin Creevey was one of them, and he was positively elated. 

"Harry, oh, Harry," I could hear him saying. "This has got to be so exciting, Harry…"

Finally, the three of us, along with Neville and Ginny, who I had spotted, made it back to the common room. It was filled with Gryffindors, mostly first and second years. Ginny looked anxious. 

"But you'll all be gone next year, all of you!" she said sorrowfully. "What'll I do? I feel sick…" she added. I smiled reassuringly.

"Ginny, you'll be _fine_. You'll have loads of fun next year, really you will!" I told her.

"Yeah," said Ron. "Besides, you'll be the only Weasley here! Won't that be something? Man, that would be nice…" he trailed off wistfully. I elbowed him.

The weekend sped by, like I knew it would but had desperately hoped it wouldn't. On Sunday we went to see Hagrid. Fang had certainly grown older, but he hadn't grown smaller, and he practically knocked us down as we came in the door.  

We talked about everything- Quidditch, what we were going to do after school ended, the best (AND worst) flavor of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (we all vehemently agreed that liver was one of the less appetizing), Fred and George's brand new joke shop, the most hideous outfit Snape had ever worn (or that we could imagine him wearing), and… Voldemort. It was strange. I couldn't remember ever talking so much about…that. For the past seven years, it had been the thing we talked the least about, and the thing that scared us the most. But that day we were honest, and we talked about it, and it scared all of us that we needed to talk about it. Hagrid was really worried about Dumbledore. I was worried about Harry. But like I said, I hate to admit it, and I didn't admit it then. 

Before I knew it, it was the last day of school. Friday morning was bright and clear, although the rain the night before had left the grounds damp and the air chilly. I was still thrilled over the announcement that Gryffindor had won the House Cup! And besides that, I- Hermione Granger- got to give an end-of-year speech! Being Head Girl was a wonderful experience, and I didn't hesitate to say so in my speech. I'll miss it, I really will… but it's not the end of the world, right? _Hogwarts isn't the only place in the world, you know,_ I reminded myself for the billionth time. I was having some trouble being as excited as the other 7th years. 

After saying goodbye to Hagrid, we piled onto the train. The three of us chose our usual compartment, and I managed to convince myself that I would be glad to get home. I could finally relax. 

The ride home was the best one yet. Our friends wandered over and we all played Exploding Snap ("In Fred and George's memory," declared Harry), pigged out on candy, and reminded each other of the funniest things that had happened to us at Hogwarts. ("Hey Neville, remember when you…" was used quite a lot, because we could all think of at least one thing for him! It was particularly embarrassing for poor Neville, but he laughed all the same.) Ron was challenged to chess several times, but that pretty much stopped after both Seamus and Dean's pieces had been beaten to a pulp.  

We got off the train at Platform 9 ¾ , for the last time. Mr. Dursley was there, as sour-looking as ever, but Harry smiled and gave us the thumbs-up, because he was only staying with them for a few more months. Mrs. Weasley was there, too, which you really can't help but notice with her bright red hair standing out in the crowd. I hugged everyone goodbye and promised to send owls all the time. Ginny invited me to come to the Burrow later that summer. 

And then I went home with my parents, and even though it was the first time I had really relaxed the whole year, I couldn't look behind us at Hogwarts Express fading into the distance, because I didn't want to start crying. 

At any rate, at least I would be back in my own bed tonight.

I hope ya liked the first chapter! I'll luv you a lot if you give me feedback…gimme damn it!!! :0P


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